Skip to main content

Obedience, Purity and Love


Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For,

“All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
 but the word of the Lord stands forever.”
And this is the word that was preached to you. (I Peter 1:22-25)


          Do we have to come back to this? Why can't we just all get along?
          Oh yes, we have to keep coming back to these essentials. How do we become pure? By obeying the truth. That means submission. Not my will, but God's, even if everything in me screams "I want... I need...I deserve...I demand!" Even if it kills me, not my will but God's. Without this obedience, there is no purity.
         How do we love and love deeply? By being pure, which means by being obedient. We love by being "without wax." It used to be that impure, unloving, unscrupulous pottery vendors would fill in cracks and flaws in their inventory using wax. If you held the cracked pot up, you could see where the wax was because it's where the light shines through.  Of course, we're all cracked pots, but God works miracles. He accepts cracked pots and commands us not to wax ourselves or our love. Our love must be pure clay - no wax allowed.
         So, to love sincerely and deeply, we have to be pure, which means we have to be obedient. Obedient to what or to whom? In the next verses, we are told that man is like grass. The Word of the Lord is living and enduring. It stands forever. Our own word dies. Being obedient to ourselves, even being obedient to our DNA doesn't make us pure. It doesn't give us life. It makes us selfish. Pretending otherwise is applying wax. It's selling a lie that won't hold water, or real love.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Gal 6:10)   “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.   By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)           Joshua grinned when he saw Rex standing by the door, studying something on the ground. "Hey, man! Are we ready to do this thing?"          Rex looked up. "Josh, I can't do it. We're still best buds, but I can't stand your fiancée."           I've met "Rex" many times. I've been Rex. Joshua (Jesus) loves the Church. He's not a fool. He knows the Church is far from perfect, but she is His chosen bride. The Rexes of this world, who think themselves His friend, turn away from her. "You don't need the Church to...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ssssssubmmissssssionnn

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ . (Ephesians 5:21)             "Ssssssubmmisssssssionnn." Can't you just hear the serpent hissing this most horrible of words? If you listen to the serpent or the world, submission means groveling, allowing yourself to be abused, denying yourself your own humanity. Nothing could be worse than submission, could it?             Submission has never been a problem for me, as long as things are going the way I want them to. The rest of the time? Well, let's just say that while I don't know how to fight physically, I don't know how to not fight mentally. One of the fights I've been having with myself for years is about submission.             My first breakthrough took place on a trip to a bookstore. As I walked into the store, my thoughts were very clear. 1) I was goi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Shark Fins, Triple Dog Dares, Heroes, Villains and Sidekicks

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)            There's a scene in Jaws in which someone sees a shark fin and starts a panic. As   all the swimmers scramble to shore, boats surround the fin, which falls over to reveal two kids. With several guns pointed at them, one of the kids points at the other. The message is clear: it was his idea. In Christmas Story, there's a scene in which one kid "triple dog dares" another to do something stupid. Since it's a triple dog dare, well, what choice does the boy have? There doesn't seem to be any end to the trouble that peer pressure can cause. ...
Post a Comment
Read more